Of course, this makes perfect sense: The team is doing well - nay, brilliantly -- and we're talking about the 12th man.

"No, it's legit," Rod Thorn said, nice guy that he is. "Stro was out forever, but he's played two good games. And now Josh is back. So we have a lot of big guys."

And ultimately, he knows, one has to go. Thorn says it's all in a "holding pattern" until Boone gets up to speed. But when that happens, the Boss knows that Sean Williams - No. 17 pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, and once considered a building block - will be a fourth-string center on a front-loaded team.

Which means zero playing time.

Which is precisely what he needs, according to Sean Advocates everywhere (legions dwindling), his agent in particular.

"I think he will clearly be an outstanding player for some team, whether it's here in New Jersey or elsewhere," Charlie Grantham said. "I'm confident in Sean's ability to play in this league. But he needs an opportunity. He needs minutes."

Yes, well. . . .not going to happen. Unless there is a lot of garbage time in this team's future.

"Well, he's had a pretty good opportunity to play here while these other people were out," Thorn said. "Obviously last year he got a real good opportunity. This year, he played for about a month every night. So he's had a good run this year."

Stalemate. Has Grantham asked Thorn to move his client? He said no, but "it's December - it's not to say that won't happen." And if he does, Thorn's response would be the one he always pulls out in circumstances such as those.

"We'll always look at it if something works out for us. But I won't trade someone just because someone wants to be traded. It's too hard to get assets, in my opinion," he said.

So Grantham, until he speaks up and asks permission to broker a deal, will have to get his client to cool his heels. The kid is very frustrated right now, very isolated. He sat on the bench in Utah an hour before the game and put on the thousand-yard stare for 15 minutes before anyone said a word to him. He had to be encouraged to join a drill by Roy Rogers Tuesday, after he spent a few minutes with his nose pressed against a metaphorical window.

He's worked hard. He's a good kid. He just has a concentration problem, by all accounts, and he simply doesn't have the skill set to play the position his body is built for -- or the size to play the position he currently occupies.

Yes, the Nets are accepting any and all offers. But no, no one is interested in a guy who has more fouls (34) than rebounds (32), more turnovers (10) than field goals (8).

And though Thorn still says he hasn't given it any thought, the D-League might be his best option.

This won't surprise you: "I don't particularly think the D-League option is good for him," Grantham suggests. "Do we think he needs work and development like all young players? Yes. But we would prefer it to be somewhere other than the D-League."

* * * * *

Boone will probably suit up tonight. His coach won't make it official until pregame. The Knicks will rewrite their entire gameplan accordingly.

And Bobby Simmons returned this A.M. after spending time back home in Chicago to deal with a family illness. No word on whether he'll head back out after the game. "Hopefully today is a better day than yesterday," he said.